Geeklings, rally the realm and be quick about it because the long wait is finally over. Winter arrives tomorrow night and we should be thanking the Seven or the Many Faced God or the Lord of Light or find your closest weirwood tree or whatever deity in Westeros you worship and say thanks.

If you’ve tuned into Parts I and II of my massive Game of Thrones preview piece, then you know we’ve covered Jon Snow and the North, Sansa and her lemon cakes, Littlefinger and his creepiness, the Mother of Dragon and her pursuit of the Iron Throne, Tyrion’s impending family reunion, and the Night King and his quest to take over the Seven Kingdoms. I’m sure you’re sitting there thinking, “what else could we have to break down” and you be surprised because there are a number of things still waiting to be discussed.

For starters, how about Queen Cersei? That’s right, she’s the Queen now. Was it her plan all along? Yes and no. It has been made abundantly clear that Cersei has wanted to show that she is as good as any Lannister man, if not better, and taking the Iron Throne prooves that in spades. Suck on that Tywin! Yet, if she had the choice I don’t think she would have taken the throne had she known that her ultimate revenge tour would have resulted in her only surviving child plunging out a window like a stage diver without a crowd. It’s hard to miss the parallel here of Cersei losing her last child in the same manner in which she helped cause this whole curfuffle in the first place. Think about it, has anything been “good” for the Lannister’s since Jamie pushed Bran out that window? I would argue no.

But what does that leave us with? A Cersei that has absolutely no anchors anymore. It could be argued that all of Cersei’s actions were committed with the best interest of her children in mind. It would be a stretch, of course, because home girl loves her revenge but she also loved those bastards. See what I did there? It was a pun because Jamie is the dad and… you get it. Seriously though, is there a more petty character in all of Westeros? Now she has nothing holding her back which is incredibly scary. Almost scary as the prospect of hearing the Night King talk. What’s that like? I’m picturing something like a Ring Wraith and a dementor… something that sounds like Pennywise the Clown looks. I digress. That black armor dress she sported in last years finale isn’t just badass but also helps represents the soul of the character. Cersei is dead inside and all will feel her wrath.

It’s easy for her to pass the deaths of her first two children on Tyrion. Cersei believes that her little brother poisoned Joffery, #nohedidnt, and if he hadn’t sent Mrycella to Dorn she’d still be alive, #maybe. But there’s no one to blame for poor Tommen’s death but herself, and it’s this action that I think will cause a wedge between her and Jamie. Remember there’s a prophecy going around that Cersei will die at the hands of her brother and it was easy to assume that they were talking about Tyrion, but I’ve never bought it. The only way for Cersei to die is by the golden hand of her brother Jamie. Just think of the story arc. When we first meet Jamie he’s pushing kids out of windows and is known for stabbing the Mad King in the back, thus getting him the catchy nickname of the King Slayer. It’s easy to forget that Jamie was the father of these children too, not like he was dad of the year, but their deaths have to affect him in some manner, right? Could Cersei’s actions cause enough of a rift where a heartbroken Jamie has no choice but to become the Queen Slayer as well? I have little doubt that we are going to see a very dark and possibly mad version of Cersei this season. Daenery’s impending arrival and super team up with Tyrion could be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back here. Jamie is still head of the Kings Guard and seeing her actions, and love for wild fire might put him in a position where history repeats itself. Think of that for a minute. I’m sure most of you can hear Cersei scream “burn them all” over and over again, and what would be more just then seeing Jamie take her out. Does that still fit into the redemption arc for him? Could that possible death lead to the Mother of Dragons taking the throne? It certainly raises a number of possibilities.

Jamie might have to wait in line before he can kill his sister/lover/mother of his children because Arya Stark is back on Westeros soil and she’s making people pies for everyone! Well, not everyone as I’d imagine that would be insanely time consuming but the Freys are good enough. Seriously, was there anything more satisfying than watching Arya finally avenge the Red Wedding for the Starks? It was some cold blood assassin like shiz and it actually has me slightly worried for my favorite Stark, Jon isn’t a Stark so you hush that argument right now. While Arya was unable to give up her name she did come back with a very particular skill set. A skill set that could be used to start crossing names off a certain death list. As I recall Cersei is at the very top of that list although there are others.

Like the Hound for instance. We learned last year that the Hound lives (huzzah!) and now he’s joined up with the Brotherhood Without Banners because why not. He’s got no home, he’s certainly not welcomed in Kings Landing, and the quiet village he was living in is all dead now. The Hound has said it himself as the only thing he’s good at is bringing death. If the trailer is any indication then it appears that he’s heading North towards the Wall or Winterfell which brings about an interesting wrinkle. Sansa is also up North and we know that the Hound holds a soft spot in his heart for her. I said in Part I of my previews that Sansa is going to be a problem this season (#thankslittlefinger) but maybe the Hound is our glimmer of hope here. I’m not saying that he can get her to reason but maybe he can see what Littlefinger is doing and take him out of the equation. Wouldn’t that be something?

Of course, when it comes to the Hound it’s hard to ignore the fact that his brother, the Mountain, is still sort of alive. Right? I can’t figure that out. Is he a zombie beast monster thing now? I’m pretty sure he died and got brought back to life but that’s all beside the point. He’s walking and wielding a sword which means that the Cleganebowl is still very much a possibility. Ever since the Mountain chopped the head off that horse when trying to kill the Knight of Flowers and the Hound stepped in we’ve been patiently waiting for the possibility of seeing these two monster go at it one on one. Could this finally be the season it happens? Who wins? Well, we win of course because it’s going to be an epic throwdown.

What else, what else, what else? I know I didn’t touch much on Bran and his new Three Eyed Raven powers but I suspect he’ll help rally some sort of army to assist Jon during the battle with the White Walkers. I really have no idea where Sam’s story thread is going but I’m curious. Then there’s always forever friend zoned, Jorah Mormont and his greyscales. He can only return when he finds a cure which means he’s going to be searching hard. Ugh, it’s all so awesomely overwhelming. You have to figure that all roads will lead to Westeros and we’re the closest we’ve ever been to seeing so many characters reunite. Think of the reunions between Jon and Arya? If there’s anyone to pull her out of the darkness it’s him. Or Arya and the Hound, the best buddy team up in all of Westeros. How about Tyrion and Jamie? Bran and Sansa/Jon/Arya?

Crap, I didn’t’ even touch on Melisandre! Last we saw her she got banished from Winterfell, you go Davos, heading south. Where will she end up? Could she meet up with the Brotherhood Without Banners? Or maybe a certain Mother of Dragons? There is little doubt that she’s going to end up somewhere looking to feed fire visions into someone’s head. She’s a bit of a wildcard for me but I do hold a lot of interest there.

Geeklings, I think I’ve said all I can possibly say for now. The premier is tomorrow night and all feels right in the world. If you have any theories or ideas or commentary you’d like to share the comments are all yours. You can also find me on Twitter @iamgeek32 if you’d like to have a Game of Thrones conversation. I always answer any Tweets. You’ll find me there tomorrow night with a nonspoiler Tweeting affair as the show progresses. I think. There’s always the chance that I’ll get caught up watching and forget to Tweet. In which case, sorry I lied.

I hope everyone has an amazing viewing experience tomorrow and hold on to our creed, if Tormund dies we riot. Never forget that the night is dark and full of terrors so believe in the buddy system. See everyone early Monday with my episode review!

Kevin Carey is an
unapologetic geek who strongly
believes his mind works much like an episode of
Community. Has a strong love for pop culture that focuses on
TV, comics, movies,
and books. Kevin also enjoys writing fiction and has self published a short
story to
Amazon. While awaiting his Hogwarts acceptance letter, Kevin lives on
Long Island with his cat and extensive
Pop Vinyl collection. You can find him here on Fan Fest, at his blog I Am Geek, or the I Am Geek Podcast spreading geekiness to all.